Jane 4, 1868. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTIOULTOBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



415 



It is a woll-known fact that many good fanciers and ex- 

 hibitors Imvo of late given up tlie idea of sending their birds 

 for competition, owing to tlieir, in too many caees, having the 

 mortitication of seeing their birds beaten by others of third 

 or fourth-rate merit. I consider that any man who takes the 

 ofHoe of judge ought to state distinctly in tlie report of the 

 show where he considers the first-prize bird beat the second 

 and third. It would give the exhibitor who could not attend 



the show some satisfaction to know where his birds were de- 

 ficient, and it would also give exhibitors some proof of the 

 judge or judges selected being capable of at least knowing 

 first-rate from inferior birds. 



If committees wish to have their pons well filled they wil 

 do well to have men selected to ofticiate as judges who have 

 given proof of their sufliciont knowledge. — Rout. Fultom, 

 Shandon Cottage, Duke Street, Deptford. 



STRONG VEBSus WEAK SWARMS. 



I HAVE all along advocated in these pages the superior ad- 

 vantages obtainable by keeping bees on the non-swarming or 

 oombination-of-swarms system, as compared with their sub- 

 division into numerous single weak colonies by the swarming 

 plan. The contrast is never more marked than during a poor 

 honey season, such as the last, when swarms hived singly had 

 too generally to be liberally fed to save them from a miserable 

 death by starvation, while non-swarming or combiued-swarm 

 colonies, besides laying-up for themselves an ample store for 

 winter's u?e, yielded in addition a fair though by no means 

 average harvest to the bee-master. 



To parties engaged in business away from their homes 

 during the day, this system 

 is peculiarly well adapted, 

 as all that is required is 

 a little attention during a 

 morning or evening to see 

 that the wants of the colo- 

 nies are duly provided for 

 by a gradual extension of 

 the breeding and storing 

 space, and in due time the 

 bee-keeper is certain of reap- 

 ing as rich a honey harvest 

 as the district and season 

 ■can be expected to yield. 

 He is saved all risk of 

 stocks dying from want, and 

 trouble and expense of feed- 

 ing, as such strong colonies 

 usually lay up ample store, 

 generally in excess of their 

 requirements, and is spared, 

 too, the mortification of 

 finding on bis return that 

 swarms have escaped unob- 

 served during his absence, 

 and are nowhere to be found. 

 It is a poor season indeed in 

 which swarms combined do 

 not yield honey enough to 

 cover their value, while if 

 established separately they 

 often give nothing and re- 

 quire feeding. What a treat, 

 toe, awaits their owner, at 

 least once a-week, or on an 

 odd hoUday, to witness early 

 in an afteraoon such stocks 

 in full work, the crowds that 

 pour out and in, the air re- 

 verberating with their sweet- 

 est music, and such a brisk, 

 happy, "all the more the 

 merrier," look about every 

 individual bee, bespeaking 

 great internal prosperity, 

 and a sort of infectious de- 

 termination to "go at it," 

 quite cheering to behold; 

 while at an adjoining weak 



colony will be seen the odd dropper on the landing-board, 

 possibly heavily pollen-laden, resting to draw its breath ere it 

 struggles in out of sight, met by an outgoing forager who takes 

 aleisurely survey whilst resting the wing, all telling too plainly 

 that there will be difficulty here to make the two ends meet 

 that is positively saddening to look at. 



The great secret of successful bee-keeping is to possess 

 strong combined colonies in suitable hives, offering ready 

 facility for supering and nadiring as required, and so advanced 



that these large bodies of reapers are all ready to turn to at the 

 moment the main source of supply of the district is available, 

 be it clover, lime, or heather. Under judicious management 

 results may then be attained almost beyond the belief of the 

 bee-keeper who weakens his stocks by indiscriminate swarm- 

 ing. Before such swarms hived separately can have their new 

 domicles furnished for full work, the staple is disappearing 

 and the season lost. This combination system is of vital im- 

 portance to us poor northerners, whose honey season is 

 exceedingly short, and the weather so cold and variable to gather 

 it in. 



Swarms hived singly and weak colonies must each have 



their queen, comb-builders, 

 nurses, and guards, as well 

 as stronger ones ; indeed, 

 a much greater proportion 

 must remain within- doors to 

 keep up the required tem- 

 perature, and, consequently, 

 fewer foragers can be spared 

 to go abroad, resulting too 

 frequently, instead of a divi- 

 dend to the bee-master at 

 the season's end, in a most 

 peremptory " call " in the 

 shape of a liberal supply of 

 sugar ; whereas, the strong 

 colony during the same sea- 

 son will yield a good return 

 with a considerable addition 

 to the " rest " account. If 

 the small antiquated manu- 

 factory, with its manager 

 and heads of departments, 

 will not pay, while a hand- 

 some profit at the same time 

 accrues to the proprietor of 

 the large establishment with 

 modern improvements — if it 

 is found Eow-a-days, that 

 the small vessel with its cap- 

 tain and officers in pay will 

 leave a loss to the owner, at 

 a rate of freight that to the 

 proprietor of the full-sized 

 ship gives a remunerating 

 return — is it to be wondered 

 at that the former are being 

 rapidly displaced by the lat- 

 ter, and why should we bee- 

 keepers be behind the ' spirit 

 of the age?' 



It is solely to these prin- 

 ciples being so well under- 

 stood and practised, that the 

 Ayrshire bee-keepers are en- 

 abled to send annually to 

 the Glasgow market those 

 fine octagon supers of clover 

 honey, whose dazzling pu- 

 rity, straightness of work, 

 and completeness of finish, are unapproachable anywhere, so far 

 as I have seen, and a source of delight and puzzle to all bee- 

 keeping tourists. Whatever they are in their own department 

 of " flower honey," a correspondent of mine (Mr. Matthew 

 Mitchell, Abington), ranks equally high in "heather honey," as 

 he has shown this season by sending some of his beautiful 

 workmanship to Glasgow. He has made the storing of the 

 high-flavoured product of the heath, in glass, his especial 

 study, and for his success in this direction stands unrivalled, 



